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Unselfish Trees

I read somewhere once that the Garden of Eden was full of perfect luscious fruits. I also read somewhere else that the most perfect diet for mankind is a fruit diet. Well I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't lived in India. My country of origin, Ireland, is wonderful in many ways, but not for fruit. Most of the fruit I grew up eating was imported. Apples, oranges and bananas were always in abundant supply in my home, thanks to my wonderful mother. But yes, all imported.

But in India it is a different story. We have wonderful melons and mangoes at this time of the year. These fruits are so wonderful, that I would happily live on them. I never thought I would say anything like that before I came to live here. Our locally grown mangoes don't seem to be quite ready yet, but maybe that's just me. I mightn't have encountered them yet. And if they are yet expensive in the market, my household members will not purchase them.

Our back to back neighbours have several mango trees and a lemon tree at the very back of their house. These ungrateful trees are handing their fruit right away from their family and straight at us! Oh, what a pity those mangoes are yet unripe. They look like they could be perfect, ripe dassari mangoes in about ten days.

But whether the fruit can be enjoyed simply as a fruit or not remains to be seen. If it comes to that, we can use these mangoes as a flavouring for other foods (like dal) or make pickles out of them. Well, I won't make pickles, I don't know how to. My mother-in-law will. On second thoughts maybe it is about time I learnt.

It can be a thankless job growing fruit and vegetables when other people get the benefit and give you no credit at all. My father-in-law (FIL) grew a lauki plant a few years ago. It is a creeper. It grew right up into the terrace of our house, and into the terraces of our neighbouring houses. Three or four houses in our line enjoyed a free supply of lauki (bottle gourd) as a result of Papaji's labours. One of our neighbours even paid people to do work for him with laukis. Rascal! He should have paid the money and given the laukis as a bonus. Some people are so greedy.

First time I am visiting your blog Gaelikaa. I love your chatty style of writing that conveys a lot. In India we believe that a tree must be planted with the future in mind...who enjoys the fruits is their destiny.We are eating mangoes here in Chennai. In Mumbai the Alphonso comes early but traditionally people stop eating them once the rains come. In Chennai we enjoy a long mango season as we get varieties of the fruit from all over the country.We get Daseri, Langda and Chausai right up to end July/August. We are now eating Banganapalli. Malgova will be next and then Rumani and Neelam. However the mango season is dull this year--expensive and not so tasty.

Looney stole my thunder! Right now, in Pune, we have mangoes coming from the South and North as the alphonso season has tapered off. We also get luscious water melons, papayas and musk melons and the major part of my diet is of all these as well as fantastic cucumbers and sinful yellow carrots from Mahabaleshwar. If I did not have to get some food cooked for my father and my son, I would not cook at all!

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